Does UT2K4 support Widescreen gaming?

[Rieper]

I just picked this game up for $19.99 online. My question is, my LCD is 1280x768 resolution and I'm wondering where in the Video Options do I select "Widescreen"? I see full screen option but that does not help. It's almost like my mouse if off-screen and I can barely select anything in the menu. Very weird.

Steven

[mezkal]

Howdy,

Yes any of the games based on the UT2k3/4 engine (that's Unreal 2.0, Unreal Tournament 2k3, Unreal Tournament 2k4 and more recently Tribes : Vengeance) will work in any resolution you specify (especially seeing as you have 256MB VRAM you lucky sod you :P). Sometimes the choices will not available to you in the Settings menu therefore you may need to do some manual editing of some INI files (one for each game) to set your resolution to 1280x768 , ie 16:9 Widescreen.

For this example we're going to look at Unreal Tournament 2004. Browse to the System folder where you installed Unreal Tournament 2004. In that folder open UT2004.INI. Now we need to edit some settings in the the [WinDrv.WindowsClient] section. As below

Makes sure the following lines are as follows:-

FullscreenViewportX=1280
FullscreenViewportY=768
MenuViewportX=1280
MenuViewportY=768

Now save the file and close it. Open Unreal Tournament 2004. Welcome to fullres Widescreen :)

Due to the fact that you're in Widescreen now you probably should should change your Field Of View (FOV) from it's default setting of 90 to something like 120. This will allow you to maximise the use of your screen area and see more of the game than is usually possible on a standard ratio 3:4 screen.

Start any mission of any type. Whilst in the mission, press the tilde key (`) to bring up the console. Type "FOV 120" (sans the quotation marks of course) and press enter. Now quit UT2K4. The next time you restart it, your resolution and FOV settings will be retained.

This tutorial is equally applicable in ANY of the games that were mentioned at the top of this post.

Cheers,

Mezkal

[Rieper]

Howdy,

Yes any of the games based on the UT2k3/4 engine (that's Unreal 2.0, Unreal Tournament 2k3, Unreal Tournament 2k4 and more recently Tribes : Vengeance) will work in any resolution you specify (especially seeing as you have 256MB VRAM you lucky sod you :P). Sometimes the choices will not available to you in the Settings menu therefore you may need to do some manual editing of some INI files (one for each game) to set your resolution to 1280x768 , ie 16:9 Widescreen.

For this example we're going to look at Unreal Tournament 2004. Browse to the System folder where you installed Unreal Tournament 2004. In that folder open UT2004.INI. Now we need to edit some settings in the the [WinDrv.WindowsClient] section. As below

Makes sure the following lines are as follows:-

FullscreenViewportX=1280
FullscreenViewportY=768
MenuViewportX=1280
MenuViewportY=768

Now save the file and close it. Open Unreal Tournament 2004. Welcome to fullres Widescreen :)

Due to the fact that you're in Widescreen now you probably should should change your Field Of View (FOV) from it's default setting of 90 to something like 120. This will allow you to maximise the use of your screen area and see more of the game than is usually possible on a standard ratio 3:4 screen.

Start any mission of any type. Whilst in the mission, press the tilde key (`) to bring up the console. Type "FOV 120" (sans the quotation marks of course) and press enter. Now quit UT2K4. The next time you restart it, your resolution and FOV settings will be retained.

This tutorial is equally applicable in ANY of the games that were mentioned at the top of this post.

Cheers,

Mezkal


Hey Mezkal,


Dude, thanks for taking the time to write all the config settings down. I hope I am not the only one who will benefit, seems more and more people are now using widescreen LCDs.

I tried your settings and DAMM! Everything looks perfect. If this is where widescreen gaming is headed then I am on board for LIFE!



Steven

[mezkal]

:)

Glad I could help.

Oh and I also found this page on Widescreen gaming (http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:_X8duRL52GYJ:htpcnews.com/forums/index.php%3Fshowtopic%3D25%26st%3D0+Morrowind+cust om+Resolution&hl=en&client=firefox-a) while browsing around.

[jimmilyhubes]

I'm using Mac 10.5.6, what do I do to enable widescreen? I don't have the UT2004.ini file, but did find a "default.ini" file with some of the same code. I'm assuming I don't edit the "windows" section though. Thanks for your help!

[jeffmd]

hmm, there was no special method in the pc version, it simply allowed you to set resolutions that were widescreen aspect ratios as part of its video config screens.

[LordJuanlo]

You must set the FOV manually, either by console or fixing it in the UT2004.INI file, there are two entries:

DesiredFOV=
DefaultFOV=

Default is 90, which is good for 4:3 resolution, for 16:10 I think a good value would be around 100. If you choose a widescreen resolution and don't set the FOV, you will have the same field of views than a 4:3 resolution, but image will be stretched (and hence deformed)

[saturnotaku]

I'm using Mac 10.5.6, what do I do to enable widescreen? I don't have the UT2004.ini file, but did find a "default.ini" file with some of the same code. I'm assuming I don't edit the "windows" section though. Thanks for your help!

Bolded part is your problem. Trying to play anything other than Peggle in Mac OS is an exercise in futility. The vast majority of Mac ports of games are absolutely awful, due largely in part to Apple's piss-poor implementation of OpenGL. If you want to game on a Mac, use Boot Camp and install Windows to run games in the operating system they were designed for in the first place.

[jeffmd]

saturn, is that a half assed attempt at a mac flame or do you have first hand experience in the UT2 engine on mac specifically? I would have thought an engine used in several games would have had enough time on the max to have its bugs worked out.

[saturnotaku]

saturn, is that a half assed attempt at a mac flame or do you have first hand experience in the UT2 engine on mac specifically?

UT2004 runs like garbage on OS X, but decently enough with higher graphical settings when running Windows on the exact same machine. This is first-hand experience with my MacBook Pro.

[nvnewsagent]

Sorry for the necrothreading. I googled for UT2K4 and widescreen, and this is evidently the first hit on the 1st page.

Answer to the original question: your .INI file is buried within your hidden user folder. You don't have to unhide the folder with Terminal or TinkerTool to get there. Simply go to the menu bar, select
Go > Go to Folder... >
then in the box type:
/Users/[your name]/Library/Application Support/Unreal Tournament 2004/System

UT2004.ini should be right inside.

And @saturnotaku. As an otaku, you = http://cdn2.cagepotato.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/402-facepalm-your-doing-it-wrong.jpg

[Madpistol]

stuff

Sorry, but you just necro'd a 7 1/2 year old thread that was answered 7 1/2 years ago. Was it really necessary to pull this thread back up just so you could reanswer the question? :headexplode:

Also, Saturn's answer was given 3 years ago, so again, this is me thinking about you: :headexplode:

[jeffmd]

hahaha..I had to double take when he said "and more recently Tribes : Vengeance"

I guess its good to add good info to something thats at the top of googles hit list.

[ViN86]

saturn left years ago. He's back occasionally, but I doubt he still plays UT2k4...